Disk rack for pot lids

ABSTRACT

The present invention refers to a disk rack, of the type composed of an equally spaced parallel series of vertical support elements made of thin coated wire, characterised in that each support element is basically composed of two lateral ascending sections joined on top by a shaped crosspiece with downward central portion suitable for housing the knob of pot lids.

[0001] The present patent application refers to a disk rack for pot lids.

[0002] The invention has been devised to improve the current construction technique of disk racks mounted in kitchen cabinets (generally over the sink) or dishwashers.

[0003] As it is known, disk racks are used to hold plates edgeways, one next to the other, at a very small distance.

[0004] Traditional disk racks are composed of a sort of rack that comprises a parallel series of arches of thin coated wire fixed on the two parallel stringers of the bearing frame that, in the case of dishwashers, is a removable bearing frame with wheels.

[0005] Traditional disk racks have been devised to support dishes, that is to say round objects with regular, smooth surface.

[0006] Dishes are placed edgeways between two arches until they touch the parallel stringers that support the arches. The interference with the stringers stops the downward travel of the dishes, while the pairs of arches hold dishes in sub-vertical position, as desired.

[0007] The arches provide good support for dishes, basically holding at least three-quarters of the dish perimeter. It appears evident that the two ascending sections and the top transversal section of each arch (provided with regular coordinated curving) perfectly match the corresponding sections of the dish perimeter when the dish is placed edgeways in contact with the arch.

[0008] However, this constructive feature of traditional dish racks (specifically related to the arched shape of the support elements) is a functional limitation, since it makes traditional dish racks unsuitable to hold different objects, other than ordinary dishes.

[0009] Specific reference is made to pot lids that, in spite of their circular shape, cannot be placed edgeways in traditional dish racks due to the presence of the knob in central position on the convex external side of the lid.

[0010] More precisely, due to the presence of the knob, the total height of the lid is excessive for the standard distance between two arches of traditional dish racks.

[0011] Practically speaking, it is not possible to place pot lids in the dish rack due to the interference between the knob and the crosspiece of one of the arches limiting the space where the lid is to be placed edgeways.

[0012] It appears evident that dish racks with arched support elements could hold pot lids if the distance between each pair of arches was considerably increased.

[0013] Such a situation, however, would be very critical from the practical viewpoint, since the increased distance between two consecutive arches would provide precarious support for ordinary dishes, apart from dramatically reducing the number of dishes stored in the rack.

[0014] The careful examination of the drawbacks of the prior technique resulted in the development of the dish rack of the invention, which is characterised by the capability of holding both dishes and pot lids, while maintaining the same distance between each pair of arches as in traditional dish racks.

[0015] The inventive idea that allowed for overcoming the problems of the prior technique was to introduce support elements made of thin coated wire, no longer provided with arched shape.

[0016] In particular, each support element is composed of two ascending curved sections that converge upwards and are joined by means of a special crosspiece with basically sinusoidal profile, whose main characteristic is represented by a central deep loop, which creates a sort of a cradle.

[0017] Obviously, support elements are fixed at a constant distance to a pair of parallel stringers.

[0018] The presence of the central cradle ensures the easy, correct insertion of pot lids edgeways between two consecutive innovative support elements of the invention, thanks to the fact that the knob of the lid encounters no obstacle or interference during the downward travel inside the dish rack.

[0019] Compared to the total height of the support elements, the depth of the central loop is such that the central knob of the lid does not interfere with the bottom of the loop before the lower edge of the lid reaches the two stringers to which the support parallel elements are fixed.

[0020] This is true, of course, for lids with large diameter; in the case of lids with small diameter, the first and only interference occurs when the knob touches the bottom of the loop of the support element.

[0021] In this case, small lids remain suspended in the dish rack, with the knob astride of the cradle of the support element. However, also in this case, lids maintain the desired edgeways position between two consecutive support elements, although with lower stability.

[0022] It must be noted that the innovative support elements used in the dish rack of the invention can of course hold ordinary dishes.

[0023] In view of the above, it can be stated that, unlike traditional dish racks, the disk racks of the invention are extremely versatile, since they can hold both dishes and lids.

[0024] For major clarity the description of the invention continues with reference to the enclosed drawing, which is intended for purposes of illustration and not in a limiting sense, whereby FIG. 1 is a view of the new dish rack of the invention.

[0025] With reference to the aforementioned figure, the dish rack of the invention is traditionally composed of two parallel stringers (1) fixed to a bearing frame (2). An equally spaced series of support elements (3) otherwise definable as “bridges”—is fixed between the two stringers (1) to support dishes and lids edgeways.

[0026] In particular, each bridge (3) comprises two converging curved sections (3 a) joined on top by a crosspiece with sinusoidal profile (3 b) with a deep loop (3 c) in central position.

[0027] When placed edgeways against one of the bridges (3), lids use the interference of the two curved sections (3 a) of the bridge (3) on the two opposite lateral sides, while the crosspiece (3 b) of the bridge interferes with the central area of the lid from side to side, housing the knob thanks to the presence of the deep loop (3 c).

[0028] It appears evident that the bridges (3) are perfectly capable of holding ordinary dishes likewise, regardless of the presence of the knob. 

1) Dish rack for pot lids, of the type composed of an equally spaced parallel series of vertical support elements made of thin coated wire, characterised in that each support element is basically composed of two lateral ascending sections joined on top by a shaped crosspiece with downward central portion, suitable for housing the knob of pot lids. 2) Dish rack according to claim 1, characterised in that, in a preferred embodiment, each support element (3) is shaped as a bridge, having two lateral curved sections (3 a) that converge upwards and are joined by means of a crosspiece with sinusoidal profile (3 b) with a deep central loop (3 c). 